Possible Strike

I would imagine that the Washington Examiner editorial team has received a few responses from their readers who read If railworkers strike, Congress Can and Should Force Them Back on the Job. 

Something I want to make abundantly clear. I am in no way speaking for the union that represents me, my fellow employees and union members, nor the railroad I work for. These words are solely my own. 

Understand one thing, I realize the impact even a short strike will have on a very fragile economy. I don't want one either. But every once in a while steps have to be taken that are unpleasant and painful. 

I would like to address a couple of points in the article where it seems the writer isn't quite up to speed on the issues. 

Of the two biggest unions representing rail workers, one voted narrowly last week to accept a new contract with a 24% pay increase and a $1,000 annual bonus for its workers. 

Snip... 

It is pretty hard to sympathize with a single division of a single union that is holding out for more than a bonus and a 24% pay increase at a time when most workers aren't getting any pay increases at all. 

Firstly, it is not a single division of a single union. Furthermore, it isn't about the money. By most measures, we are compensated well. No matter how much you hear about this from the railroad PR departments, it isn't about the money. It goes so much deeper than the money. 

I understand that the general public really doesn't clearly see why several unions have rejected this contract offer. Four of the railroad unions have rejected the tentative agreement, not just the SMART-TD. I have run across this on several occasions when discussing the issues with folks not involved. The railroads have done a bang up job feeding the media a narrative that seems to indicate that the railworkers are a bunch of money grubbers. One point you need to remember, this raise was not offered by the railroads. It came from the Presidential Emergency Board (PED). Very rarely have have seen or heard in the media what the real reasons are for the rejection of the contract. Or why the contract was only narrowly approved by those unions that did accepted the contract. 

For myself, as a SMART-TD member, it boils down to two issues: time off/attendance policies and life style. I will repeat, these are my own words, they represent my opinions, not of my fellow employees, the union, or the company. 

When I was hired 10 years ago the company had a very arbitrary policy that governed attendance. It was difficult to know where you stood. At times, it seemed like the company would apply discipline ad-hoc. Then a points based system was implemented, without input from the unions. The company called it a policy, so as to avoid negotiations. Yet it impacted our lives greatly. Before the policy I was considered a model employee, based on my efforts and the non compensated time off I took. If I had continued to to lay off in the same manner as before, I would have been dismissed several times over. Taking this non compensated time off was necessary since requesting compensated time off was nearly impossible. Taking this non compensated time off is almost a necessity due to how lousy our work schedules are. I cover this in more detail below. 

Congress, when it passed the Railway Labor Act in the 1920s, decided that railroads are just too important to be subjected to the whims of Big Labor the way other businesses are.  

"...the whims of Big Labor..." Do you realize that we have been without a contract for nearly three years. In that time, while other industries were raising pay, we have not seen a single penny addition to our wages. But as I pointed out above, it is not the wages we are striking over. Wanting to strike after three years of negotiations with the railroads not willing to give us an occasional paid sick day, or some sort of predictable schedule doesn't seem like a whim. 

As a railworker, I am on call constantly. Outside of the federally mandated 10 hours of undisturbed rest, we have to base our lives on when the call is going to come in. We don't know if the phone is going to ring moments after our rest time expires, or many hours later. As I type this up I have been waiting for trains to get called for many hours. Earlier in the day, I expected the phone to ring a few hours ago. Now I don't know if the call will come in an hour, or eight hours from now. This makes it nearly impossible to be properly rested. 

This leaves us with the inability to plan for normal events in our lives. Since I don't know more than a few hours out when I might be going to work, I can't commit to anything. I can't schedule medical and dental appointments. I can't tell my wife that I'll be able to attend a family gathering. I can't tell friends that I'll be over to watch the game. 

Divorce is high among railworkers. I hired out late in life, after a long career in the military. I cannot imagine doing this job with a young family. All of the missed birthdays, games, school events, holidays can break a family down. Although it it just my wife and I now, I still miss events. Date night is a thing of the past. I only rarely get to go to church. To attend my youngest high school graduation a few years ago I had to lay off sick because the company wouldn't give me a requested compensated day off. We shouldn't have to beg and plead to get an occasional day off to attend important events. 

Most of the friends I had when I retired from the military no longer include me when planning events. Some don't even reach out to me anymore. This has also had an impact on my wife. We rarely, if ever, go out with friends. They don't invite us any longer because they know I won't be able to attend. This has significantly decreased my wife's social circle. 

Forget scheduling medical appointments. I'm not even sure when I'm going to work three days from now, much less two weeks in the future. Yes, the contract offer included three days of sick time off which doesnt go against the attendance policy. But I have to schedule the appointment 30 days out. If I have a follow up appointment the next week, I have to attempt to get a compensated days off (highly unlikely) or lay off sick, uncompensated and add points to my attendance record. 

One last point I'll make. Don't even begin to think you know what it is like to work on the railroad. We can try to explain how harsh this life is. We can try to give you examples of waiting for a call for four, six, eight hours. But unless you live the lifestyle, you can't even begin to understand how it impacts our lives and those closest to us. 

Look at it another way. Maybe it's not the unions who are holding Americans and the supply chain hostage. Maybe it's the railroads who are absolutely refusing to give its employees two or three paid sick days a year and a little stability. 

Maybe you should have talked with an actual railroader before writing this opinion piece.